Apparatus and Method for Providing Product Information

ABSTRACT

A sensor system comprising a tag. The tag comprises at least one radio-frequency chip, a first antenna disposed in electrical communication with the chip and a non-conductive coating disposed upon a surface of the tag. The chip comprises a memory element providing electrical storage of a binary coded word comprising at least one bit and output terminals. The antenna is in electrical communication with the output terminals. The non-conductive coating covers the chip and defines a perimeter. The perimeter is disposed over and exposes a portion of the antenna.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 61/580,379, filed Dec. 27, 2011 titled: SMART POWERSOURCE.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to systems and methods for determining informationabout a product. The invention relates particularly to the remoteinterrogation of product information and the subsequent use of theacquired information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Consumable goods having a useful life defined in terms of theconsumption of the goods are well known. The useful life may be viewedas one or more events associated with the consumption of at least aportion of the useful quantity of the goods. In formation associatedwith the environment of use of the goods and/or the quantity of goodsused and remaining available may exist but may also be generallyinaccessible to the typical consumer of the goods. What is needed is asystem and method for extracting product relevant information in amanner which makes the information readily accessible and usable by theconsumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, A sensor system comprising a tag. The tag comprises atleast one radio-frequency chip, a first antenna disposed in electricalcommunication with the chip and a non-conductive coating disposed upon asurface of the tag. The chip comprises a memory element providingelectrical storage of a binary coded word comprising at least one bitand output terminals. The antenna is in electrical communication withthe output terminals. The non-conductive coating covers the chip anddefines a perimeter. The perimeter is disposed over and exposes aportion of the antenna.

In one aspect a method of determining product information includes thesteps of: providing a product comprising a tag, and an interrogatoradapted to detect radiation associated with the data of the tag;interrogating the state of the tag; interpreting the state of the tag;and providing an output associated with the interpreted state of thetag. The tag comprises a digital memory storing data associated with theproduct.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and benefits of the present invention will become morereadily apparent through consideration of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 show s a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Definitions:

The following text sets forth a broad description of numerous differentembodiments of the present invention. The description is to be construedas exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment sincedescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible, and it will be understood that any feature, characteristic,component, composition, ingredient, product, step or methodologydescribed herein can be deleted, combined with or substituted for, inwhole or part, any other feature, characteristic, component,composition, ingredient, product, step or methodology described herein.Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using eithercurrent technology or technology developed after the filing date of thispatent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’: ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). No termis intended to be essential to the present invention unless so stated.To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of thispatent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with asingle meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to notconfuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term belimited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally,unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and afunction without the recital of any structure, it is not intended thatthe scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the applicationof 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.

In one aspect, a sensor system comprising a tag. The tag may compriseone or more layers of conductive inks printed upon a substrate.Exemplary substrate materials include: polyester, paper, highpermittivity dielectric materials, and FR-4 material Multiple layerstructures may further comprise partial layers of non-conductingmaterial separating at least portions of the conductive layers.Exemplary conductive layers include copper and silver inks The tagcomprises a radio-frequency chip, and a first antenna disposed as acircuit upon a card, coin, or inlay. The chip may be an active orpassive chip. Exemplary chip/first antenna combinations include modelnumbers: RI-I03-112A-03 (13.56 MHz), and RI-INL-R9QM (134.2 kHz), ormodel TRF7970A, each available from Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tex. Theantenna may be in the physical form of a coil or a dipole. Thechip/first antenna combination may be integrated into a unit tagavailable from Kovio, San Jose, Calif.

The tag further comprises an outer non-conductive coating. Exemplarynon-conductive coating materials include polypropylene, polyethylene,and polyethylene terephthalate. The coating is disposed upon a surfaceof the tag such that a portion of the tag is uncoated and exposed to theenvironment of the tag. The uncoated area is defined by a perimeter ofthe non-conductive coating. The exposed portion of the tag may comprisea portion of the antenna up to and including all of the antenna.

In one embodiment, the circuit configuration of the chip and antennaincludes a gap such that the circuit is incomplete. In this embodiment,the gap remains exposed to the environment rather than being protectedby the non-conductive coating. The circuit of the tag may be completedby exposing the tag to a conductive environment such that conductivematerial provides the necessary electrical conductivity across the gap.Conductive environments include conductive gels, powders or liquidswherein the gap is bridged by the conductive substance. Urine, blood andsalt water are each conductive. Gels or powders comprising electrolyteswould also constitute conductive materials.

The tag may be read using an radio frequency protocol such as the NearField Communications (NFC) protocol. When the tag is interrogated, orread, the tag circuit is powered. The memory of the tag is then read byan interrogator.

The sensor system may further comprise an interrogator. The interrogatorcomprising a power source and a second antenna adapted to generateelectromagnetic radiation comprising a resonant frequency of the firstantenna, and a receiver adapted to detect electromagnetic radiation andde-modulate the detected radiation extracting embedded data from thedetected radiation. The Bluetooth™ RFID Reader, model number 223012,available GAO RFID, of Toronto Canada, exemplifies one form ofinterrogator. The model 223012 interrogator has the capacity tointerrogate the radio frequency tag and to determine the state of thememory of the tag and thus extract information associated with theoutput of the sensor or sensors relating to the environment of the tag.The 223012 further comprises a secondary network communications linkutilizing the Bluetooth™ communications protocol for transmitting theinformation extracted from the tag to a secondary device or secondaryinterrogator, such as a Bluetooth™ enabled computer or smart phone. Thesecondary interrogator may further analyze the information relating tothe state of the tag and/or the tags environment and provide an outputassociated with a particular tag and/or tag environment state. Theinterrogator may further comprise a display element such as an LCD orLED screen for displaying an output associated with the analyzed taginformation. The interrogator may further comprise one or more sensorsfor ascertaining information associated with the environment of theinterrogator. The sensors may include: temperature, humidity,acceleration sensors. The interrogator may further comprise one or morecameras enabling the capture of images associated with a product, thetag or the environment. The interrogator may comprise a GlobalPositioning capability enabling the interrogator to ascertain and shareinformation relating to the geographic location of the interrogator.

In one aspect, the Smartphone may serve as the only interrogator. Inthis aspect the smart phone may interrogate the tag thereby ascertainingthe information from the memory of the tag. The interrogator may analyzeor otherwise interpret the information and may create an output. Theoutput may be provided to a system user via an audio output, visualoutput, haptic output or combinations thereof. The interrogator mayutilize inputs from sensors or systems of the Smartphone in addition tothe tag information in creating the output. Exemplary smart phonessuitably configured to perform as a system interrogator include: theAcer™ E320 Liquid Express, the Blackberry™ Bold™ 970, available fromResearch In Motion of; the Casio IT-800; the Google Nexus 7™, availablefrom Google, Inc. Mountain View Calif.; the HTC Desire C™, availablefrom HTC of; the LG Optimus Elite; the Motorola Droid™ Razr™, availablefrom Motorola; the Nokia 700; the Panasonic BizPad™; and the SamsungGalaxy S Advance™.

In one aspect, the sensor system may include a product. The term“product(s)” is used in the broadest sense and refers to any product,product group, services, communications, entertainment, environments,organizations, systems, tools, and the like. For example, an example ofa product group is personal and household products, such as used by aperson, family or household. Examples of a representative, andnon-limiting list of product categories within the personal andhousehold product group includes antiperspirants, baby care, colognes,commercial products (including wholesale, industrial, and commercialmarket analogs to consumer-oriented consumer products), cosmetics,deodorants, dish care, feminine protection, hair care, hair color,health care, household cleaners, laundry, oral care, paper products,personal cleansing, disposable absorbent articles, pet health andnutrition, prescription drugs, prestige fragrances, skin care, foods,snacks and beverages, special fabric care, shaving and other hair growthmanagement products, small appliances, devices and batteries, servicessuch as haircutting, beauty treatment, spa treatment, medical, dental,vision services, entertainment venues such as theaters, stadiums, aswell as entertainment services such as film or movie shows, plays andsporting events A variety of product forms may fall within each of theseproduct categories.

Exemplary product forms and brands are described on The Procter & GambleCompany's website www.pg.com, and the linked sites found thereon. It isto be understood that consumer products that are part of productcategories other than those listed above are also contemplated by thepresent invention, and that alternative product forms and brands otherthan those disclosed on the above-identified website are alsoencompassed by the present invention.

Exemplary products within the laundry category include detergents(including powder, liquid, tablet, and other forms), bleach,conditioners, softeners, anti-static products, and refreshers (includingliquid refreshers and dryer sheets). Exemplary products within the oralcare category include dentifrice, floss, toothbrushes (including manualand powered forms), mouth rinses, gum care products, tooth whiteningproducts, and other tooth care products. Exemplary feminine protectionproducts include pads, tampons, interlabial products, and pantiliners.Exemplary baby care products include diapers, wipes, baby bibs, babychange and bed mats, and foaming bathroom hand soap.

Exemplary health care products include laxatives, fiber supplements,oral and topical analgesics, gastro-intestinal treatment products,respiratory and cough/cold products, heat delivery products, and waterpurification products. Exemplary paper products include toilet tissues,paper towels, and facial tissues. Exemplary hair care products includeshampoos, conditioners (including rinse-off and leave-in forms), andstyling aids. Exemplary household care products include sweeperproducts, floor cleaning products, wood floor cleaners, antibacterialfloor cleaners, fabric and air refreshers, and vehicle washing products.Skin care products include, but are not limited to, body washes, facialcleansers, hand lotions, moisturizers, conditioners, astringents,exfoliation products, micro-dermabrasion and peel products, skinrejuvenation products, anti-aging products, masks, UV protectionproducts, and skin care puffs, wipes, discs, clothes, sheets, implementsand devices (with or without skin care compositions).

Other product groups include but are not limited to: sports equipment,entertainment (books, movies, music, etc), vision, and in-home-consumedmedical and first aid, among others.

The tag may be attached to the packaging of the product such as theprimary packaging of a liquid product, or a granular product. The tagmay be immersed in or float upon the surface of a packaged liquid orgranular product. The tag may be incorporated within the product such aswithin a disposable absorbent article such as within a diaper for thepurpose of detecting an insult to the absorbent core of the diaper. Thetag may be disposed upon the surface of the product itself.

It is believed that conforming the antenna of the tag to the shape ofthe outer surface of the product yields a system where communicationbetween the interrogator and the tag may be omni-directional orachievable at a variety of angles between the interrogator and the tag.

One of the problems associated with creating a communication device forvarious products is realized when the communication device is utilizedon conductive bodies. Free space radio propagation principles do notapply near highly conductive bodies. Additionally, antenna performanceis severely degraded when antennas are placed near metals. As such,simply placing an RFID tag on a battery or on an object with aconductive body may not accomplish the desired effect, e.g. datatransfer. Notably, this problem is not limited torechargeable/disposable batteries. For example, a can of shaving gel,foam, etc., or a package comprising a metalized film, could experiencethe same issues because of the conductivity of the container. Ingeneral, an RFID tag next to metallic body decreases signal couplingbetween the reader and the tag by 10×.

One way to prevent the effects arising from metal proximity to theantenna is to prevent the electromagnetic field from entering the metal.For example, by placing a material with suitable electromagneticproperties 5 and dimensions between the antenna and the metal surfacethe electromagnetic field may be diverted around the metallic/conductivebody of the product. The properties of the diverter material depend onthe exact metal used and the RFID frequency. The magnetic divertereffectively isolates the tag from the can.

In one aspect, a method of determining product information comprisessteps of: providing a product comprising a tag as described above. Thetag comprising, at least one sensor adapted to provide an outputanalogous to a change in an environment of the sensor. The sensor havingat least one output terminal. The tag also includes a radio-frequencychip comprising a memory element, input terminals and output terminals,and a first antenna disposed in electrical communication with the outputterminals of the chip.

The method also includes providing an interrogator adapted to detectradiation associated with the data of the tag. The interrogator may bean RF or NFC protocol reader coupled with a Bluetooth™ capability asdescribed above, or a smart phone or other computing device comprisingan RF, possibly NFC, capable reader.

The interrogator may be used to determine the current state of the tagutilizing an RF communications protocol such as the NFC protocol. Theinterrogator may interpret the data received from the tag using asoftware application written for that purpose.

In one aspect the method may be minimized to providing productsincluding tags and providing software compatible with devices availablein the market or in the possession of consumers. A consumer may chooseto avail themselves of the application software which will enable theirdevice to functions as the described interrogator.

In one embodiment, the tag may be used to convey the amount of a productremaining within a package. In this embodiment, the tag may beconfigured with a portion of the antenna exposed such that exposure to aconductive product will short circuit the tag rendering it inoperativeuntil the exposed portion of the tag is free of the product due to adrop in the level of the product with respect the tag. Alternatively,the tag may be configured such that the perimeter of the non-conductivecoating exposes a gap in the circuit. In this embodiment, the tag willbe readable as long as the gap is bridged by the presence of conductiveproduct and will not be readable in the absence of product.

In one embodiment, a dipole antenna may be coated with a non-conductivepolymer. The coating may include a series of gaps exposing the antennaleads to the environment of the tag. In this embodiment, theconductivity of the tag antenna will change as more or fewer gaps arecovered with a conductive fluid. The conductivity change may bepredetermined and the purpose of the interrogation may be to ascertainthe current state of the antenna conductivity as an indicator of fluidcontact—i.e. level with respect to the tag/antenna.

An absorbent article may include a tag such that the interrogator willonly receive an output when the product/tag has been insulted by use andthe exposed portion of the tag circuit has come into contact with aconductive fluid such as blood or urine. Alternatively, the product tagmay be configured to provide an output to the interrogator until theproduct has been used/insulted and the tag has been shorted out by theexposure.

In one embodiment the tag may comprise a combination of the twoconfigurations described above. In this embodiment, a first chip will bereadable only in the absence of product while a second chip will bereadable only in the presence of product. This embodiment provides thebenefit of always providing an output to the interrogator regardless ofthe state of the product quantity.

A tag comprising a dual read configuration described above may beincluded within a diaper or other absorbent product. In this example,the tag will provide an output to the interrogator in both an insultedstate and a non-insulted state. The user will receive informationregarding the state of the product and will not be left in doubt as towhether the product state has changed or if there is an issue with thetag.

In one aspect, the interrogator may incorporate a secondary networkcommunication module affording the device an ability to send and receivedata over a cellular phone or other networks including a local area orwifi networks. In such an aspect, the interrogator may transmit datareceived from the tag and/or an analysis of the data from the tag. Thesoftware application of the interrogator may analyze the data from thetag to determine if replenishment of the product associated with the tagin needed, or to project when such replenishment will be needed in viewof usage history of the product established via a series ofinterrogations of the tag. In this aspect the application may be used toconsummate a purchase of addition product via the network. Theapplication may be further utilized to offer the user related productsfor purchase, or to make offers of other products not directly relatedto the product.

As shown in FIG. 1, a system 1000, comprises an absorbent article 300,and an interrogator 200. The absorbent article 300 comprises a tag 100.The tag 100 comprises a chip 130, a non-conductive coating 115, and anantenna 140. The interrogator 200 comprises a sensor 210, a power source220, an antenna 230, an analysis element 240, a display element 250, anda network link 260. As shown in FIG. 2, a portable power source 400,comprises a tag 100 and shielding 150. As shown in FIG. 3, a package500, comprises a tag 100.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning ordefinition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensor system comprising a tag, the tagcomprising: a. at least one radio-frequency chip comprising a memoryelement comprising electrical storage of a binary coded word comprisingat least one bit, and output terminals; b. a first antenna disposed inelectrical communication with the output terminals of the chip, c. anon-conductive coating disposed upon a surface of the tag, the coatingcovering the chip and defining a perimeter, the perimeter disposed overand exposing a portion of the antenna.
 2. The sensor system of claim 1further comprising an interrogator comprising a power source and asecond antenna adapted to generate electromagnetic radiation comprisinga resonant frequency of the first antenna, and a receiver adapted todetect electromagnetic radiation and de-modulate the detected radiationextracting embedded data from the detected radiation.
 3. The sensorsystem of claim 2 wherein the interrogator further comprises: ananalysis element adapted to interpret the extracted embedded data, and adisplay element adapted to display the results of the interpretation. 4.The sensor system of claim 2 wherein the interrogator further comprisesa sensor.
 5. The sensor system of claim 2 wherein the interrogatorcomprises a network communications link.
 6. The sensor system of claim 1wherein the first antenna comprises an omni-directional antenna.
 7. Thesensor system of claim 1 further comprising a product wherein the tagcomprises part of a product.
 8. The sensor system according to claim 7wherein the product comprises a disposable absorbent article.
 9. Thesensor system according to claim 7 wherein the product comprises aportable power source.
 10. The sensor system of claim 7 furthercomprising electrical shielding disposed between the antenna andproduct.
 11. The sensor system of claim 10 wherein the shieldingcomprises part of the tag.
 12. The sensor system of claim 1 wherein theantenna comprises a coil.
 13. The sensor system of claim 1 wherein theantenna comprises a dipole.
 14. The sensor system of claim 1 wherein theexposed antenna portion comprises antenna leads between connected to thechip.
 15. The system of claim 1 wherein the exposed portion of theantenna comprises a non-conductive gap in a coil of the antenna.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 1 wherein the tag comprises a passive radiofrequency chip.
 17. A method of determining product information, themethod comprising steps of: a. providing a product comprising a tag, thetag comprising a partially exposed antenna; b. providing an interrogatoradapted to detect radiation associated with an environmental state ofthe tag; c. altering the environmental state of the tag with respect tothe environment of the exposed antenna portion; d. interrogating thestate of the tag after the environment of the exposed portion of theantenna has been altered; e. interpreting the state of the tag; f.providing an output associated with the interpreted state of the tag.18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the step of providing aninterrogator further comprises providing an interrogator comprising anetwork communications link, the method further comprising a step ofsharing data associated with the state of the tag over a network. 19.The method according to claim 18 further comprising the step of sharingdata from the interrogator sensor over the network.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 18 further comprising the step of purchasing a unitof the product using the network.